Possession
by CresentCrimzonMoon
Summary: How strong is a soul? How strong is a bond? How far would one go if forced to fight against one of their own? Strength is tested. Loyalty is judged. Past fears resurface as all control is taken. "How strong do you think her soul is, Gajeel?" "Strong" he choked. "Really? Then why am I still here?" Her blood-stained hand brushed away a strand of hair "She's gone and I'm here to stay"
1. Chapter 1

**Crimzon: Hello readers! Yeah, it's been a while since I've updated anything. You may have noticed that my other fics have been put on hold for I am currently re-writing them. I was reading through them and didn't like how they came out so yeah. Until I can continue those, I'll be adding this fic on a weekly basis (it's kind of a goal for me so I can stop being lazy). So, every Thursday night, I'll be uploading a new chapter. It also depends on how many reviews I get (haha cuz im greedy). Anywho, please enjoy this first chapter to Possession! **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CHARACTERS! THEY BELONG TO HIRO MASHIMA! ONLY OWN OCS AND PLOT! ENJOY!**

"_Once upon a time, there was a small town that was constantly under attack from monsters that lived in the surrounding woods. Fed up with the constant fear, one man stood before the terror and created machines to protect him and his people. He was seen, by them, as a hero, but little did they know of his true nature. _

"_He was a scientist, a creator, with a thirst for knowledge that seemed unquenchable. He created massive machines to guard the small town's borders. He built tall lightning rods that provided the town with electricity. As time went by, the town was no longer under the tyranny of the evil that had plagued them. Soon after, even said evil faded. But still, that didn't stop the scientist from continuing his work. _

"_Every now and again, one person from town would disappear without a trace. No one thought it odd. Perhaps they were lost while exploring the forest? Maybe a runaway? Either way, they were much too happy to bother with the disappearances. They didn't want to risk having their now perfect lives ruined by fear. Maybe if they attempted to investigate, the horrors that soon took place wouldn't have occurred. _

"_The scientist was playing dangerously close to the flame. Starting his experiments with small animals to a living human being. He wanted to know more and more about how one functions. What was it that gave someone to have the potential of learning magic? He wanted answers more than anything. His curiosity gnawed at him. Was it the body itself that made such a thing possible? Or was it something more? By using the results from his prior experiments, he created a new type of machine; one with human characteristics. He was never so excited once it was completed. He imagined teaching it all the knowledge he could, even go as far as teaching it magic like some of the people in the town were capable of using._

"_The scientist was greatly disappointed. The robot held no life, no feeling, and had no capability of learning magic. All it was capable of doing was following simple orders without a thought of its own. The scientist was distraught. What was he missing? He had gotten the anatomy correct so what else was there? The scientist looked out the window, staring out at the open field and noticed a group of children playing. The happy expression they held. They were so full of emotion. It's then that the scientist realized the answer to his questions. The body had everything it needed . . . except one crucial component: A soul."_

Levy awoke with a gasp as she sat up straight in her seat. She wasn't sure of her surroundings at first until she heard the voice of one of her teammates call out her name.

"Levy? You ok?" asked Jet. Levy looked up and noticed him staring at her concerned. That's when it came back to her. She was still at the guild hall.

"Ugh, what happened?" she asked as she absentmindedly rubbed her cheek.

"You fell asleep reading again," chuckled Droy as he sat down with a plate of food. Jet gave him a look as he noticed the plate.

"That's your fourth plate, Droy!"

"You calling me fat?!" he argued.

"Cut down on the snacking, man!" he snapped. And so their routine arguments began.

Levy tuned them out and looked down to the open book she was just using as a pillow. It was a small book, not even a hundred pages, but it interested her nonetheless. She smiled as she noticed she only had two more pages left to read and she realized that she had fallen asleep right when it was getting good. Making herself comfortable in her seat, she scanned the page to find where she left off. Just as she began reading, another voice, somewhat more irritating than her teammates, was heard from nearby.

"Reading again, shrimp?" chuckled Gajeel as he leaned over her to look at the book.

"Would you please stop calling me that?" she responded with a glare. That only brought out his signature laugh.

"Gihii, never heard ya complain about it before, shrimp." He grinned. Levy merely sighed and looked down at her book. "So, what's this one about?" he asked as he sat down in the spot next to her which earned him a couple of glares from her teammates. She looked over at him, in shock. He was never interested in her books before. Then she noticed just how close he had gotten to her. She could feel a slight blush creep up and before he could notice, she looked down at the book and the embarrassing feeling quickly went away. She cleared her throat and began to explain.

"Sounds to me that this doctor guy ain't all there," he stated as he pointed a finger to his head. "Kinda creepy if ya ask me," he added.

"Well, we don't know that for sure," she said defensively. She, for some reason, hoped the story had a happy ending, but from what she read, she didn't like where it was going.

"Heh, whatever ya say, shrimp." With one last glare thrown his way, they both looked down at the final two pages.

"_A soul was what he was missing to make his creation complete. A crooked smile crept upon his features as he exited his lab. What he did next is something unforgivable. The scientist was crossing a line no human should. He was playing God._

"_He kidnapped the three children from the field and took them to his lab. The scientist then proceeded to create a machine that would do the most inhumane thing you could do to a person. Forcefully extract their souls._

"_Not once did his smile falter during the procedure. The screams of agony did nothing but encourage him. The first two didn't survive the procedure, but the third was a different story. The soul appeared through the long tube and into the long, circular tank with an unfamiliar substance. The soul still retained some shape of its body, but it was glowing a bright white light that soon dimmed as the days went by. He attempted to add the soul to his robot, but was quickly rejected. Still, he didn't stop. Another thought came to him. An artificial soul._

"_By using an old book he came across years before, a book of dark magic, he commenced with his new experiment. Time passed and the scientist managed to open a portal to another world. From there, he called forth one soul, a small insignificant portion of what was once living and he placed it within the robot. But the other world wanted something in exchange for the portion. Without a second thought, the scientist sent the soul of the child into the other world._

"_He closed the portal and looked to his robot. It returned his gaze and almost smiled. It had real emotions. Feeling accomplished, he decided to show his new found creation to the townspeople. Their reactions were anything but positive. They questioned where the missing children were and why there were so many people missing. He ignored their question and merely focused on his robot. Fueled with anger, the townspeople ran the scientist and his abomination out of town, never to be seen again._

"_No one really knows what became of the twisted man or his robot, but they were sure of one thing, his thirst for knowledge continued to grow. The scientist continued to experiment in the shadows, not wanting to be bothered by anyone again."_

_The End_

"That's one twisted fuck," commented Gajeel with a sneer. "Didn't know you were into books like this, shorty."

"Well, I'm not. I didn't even know I had this book until yesterday when I was cleaning my room." Levy closed the small leather-bound book with a sigh. She was disappointed with the ending. The entire time, it seemed to build up for a good ending, but it just stops with the scientist leaving. Nothing was resolved.

"How could ya not know you had this book?" he questioned.

"She has a lot of books, Gajeel," answered Jet.

"Probably more than our own library," added Droy as he took another bite of food. The Iron Dragon Slayer looked down at Levy in shock. He knew she was a major bookworm, but never knew just how many books she owned.

Levy tuned out the others for a moment as she thought about the book. She felt something was wrong, but what bothered her more was the fact that she had no memory of ever purchasing this book. She had decided to rearrange her room the other night. When she started moving one of the bookcases, multiple books toppled over. That's when she noticed a small, dust covered book titled _'Scientist.'_

"What's with this book?" she murmured out loud. Her sudden comment caught the attention of her three guild mates.

"Something wrong, Levy?" asked jet.

"Uh, it's getting kind of late, I think I'm gonna go home. I'll see you guys tomorrow," she smiled as she grabbed the small book and put it in her bag. Levy placed the bag over her shoulder and looked to the three with a smile, "Goodnight."

"Want me to walk you home?" questioned Jet as he jumped out of his seat with anticipation.

"Hey, what if I want to walk her home?!" argued a still eating Droy.

"You're busy eating!" yelled Jet.

"Guys really, I can get home by myself. It's just up the hill," she replied as she tried to calm them down. It didn't help as they continued to argue. It was only when Gajeel stood up abruptly that they stopped a moment to look at him.

"I'll walk the shrimp home," he stated then with a glare added, "Ya guys don't got a problem with that, right?"

With a shaken yelp in response from the two, Gajeel smiled then started walking towards the door.

"Ya commin' shrimp?" he called to her when he noticed she was still glued to her spot at the table. She smiled then with a slight nod, followed after him. She never heard the two whimper out her name as she left.

"You really don't have to walk me home, Gajeel. It's not like it's far," she said.

"I'm not doing this cuz I hafta," he responded. Levy was slightly taken aback by his response. _Did he actually _want _to walk me home?_ Levy's thoughts ran frantic at what this insinuated. It's then that it hit Gajeel and he realized what he had said.

"I mean, I'm only doin' it cuz those two idiots of yours wouldn't pipe down. Figured if I say something, they'd shut-up." Gajeel scratched nervously at his head. Little did he notice the disappointed look in Levy's eyes. With a sigh, she added, "Like I said, Gajeel. You really didn't have to walk me home," she snapped. At the sound of her angry tone, Gajeel looked down and was physically frightened at the blank, almost angry, expression on her face.

"Oi, what's got your nickers in a twist?"

"We're here." Levy stopped at the front door to the girl's dorm, "Now, go home." Without another look at the Dragon Slayer, she walked into the dorm and slammed the door. Gajeel stood there, completely confused as to what he did or said to anger her. With a heavy sigh, he walked back to the guild, irritated with her sudden change in mood.

"What the hell did I do?"

Levy walked into her room, silently cursing to herself when she tripped over a pile of books she had left by the door. She lay on the floor, not wanting to get back up.

"Stupid Gajeel," she muttered under her breath.

Levy wasn't sure when it started; her feelings for the Dragon Slayer. Was it sometime during the S-Class Exam or perhaps before? She wasn't sure, but when she watched Gajeel and Natsu fight against Sabertooth during the tournament, she knew. She blushed at the memory. Lucy was the only one who knew and often teased her about it.

With a sigh, she got to her feet and walked to her bed and dropped her bag on the floor by it. Levy knew that the only reason she got irritated with Gajeel like how she was earlier was because of his thick-headedness. She wasn't even sure who was more dense, him or Natsu!

She fell back into the soft blankets and stared up at the ceiling. She didn't want to think about any of that now; she just wanted to tune out. She stared at the blank ceiling, waiting for sleep to take over. Levy heard a distant clock, probably buried somewhere under the piles of books, ticking away. She focused on that tiny sound and before she knew it, she was out like a light.

In a small village close to the ocean, a malevolent miasma gathered at the center of the dark forest. Small animals that scurried too closely died within seconds. The village was nothing more but a ghost town. It has long since been abandoned. Further up past the small village was a building. Scorch marks covered its surface. The glass windows were nothing more but shattered pieces on the ground. Upon first glance, the building seemed abandoned.

A lone figure in a tattered brown cloak approached the building, staring up at it with forlorn eyes. The figure quickly shook its head, coming back to its senses and walked through the entryway. Both iron doors had broken off their hinges and now lay on the ground, covered in a thick layer of dust. The figure continued through the building and came upon a door that seemed almost untouched by time. It was the only thing in the building that wasn't rusted. The figure grabbed hold of the handle and opened the door then proceeded down the long staircase. Upon reaching the bottom, the figure could see a bright light coming from another door and without stopping, opened it and found a room full of machines, all with a different purpose.

"I see you've returned. Have you found what I asked of you?" A dark silhouette backed away from a small wooden desk and stood.

"Yes Father, I've found three perfect vessels for me and my two sisters," a soft, feminine voice responded.

"Perfect," he smiled, clapping his hands together in joy. He stood and stared at the two tanks behind him that carried two souls. "Soon, you and your sisters will have their own living bodies!" The figure smiled solemnly at her Father's cheerfulness. The man then stopped his moment of brief celebration and turned to her, "Who are they?" The figure stepped forward, closer into the light and pulled back the hood that covered her features. A gray, metallic skull with dim red eyes looked back at the man she called Father. A slight creaking sound could be heard as her jaw moved to the words.

"They're part of a guild in Magnolia," she paused a moment to look up at her sisters and then back to her Father. "Fairy Tail."

**Crimzon: Before you all say anything; yes I'm aware of the fact that it is Tuesday, not Thursday. Since it's the first chapter, I'm being nice and uploading it now. There will be another on Thursday. So please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Crimzon: What up my peeps! Here's the second chapter, but before we go on, I like to thank those that have reviewed. I like to do this thing where I comment on some of the reviews. I know how some don't like reading the Author's Note so you can go ahead and skip to the story, but I'm going ahead with this anyway. Now for my responses!**

**Ulcaasi:**** thanks for your review, I'm glad your interest was piqued and yes, it was spelled right haha. Anywho, thanks. The summaries are always my favorite to write because it shows on whether or not I'm are able to catch someone's eye and make them want to read. So yeah, pique their interest. I'm glad it was able to catch your eye and the eyes of the other readers and hope it keeps you guys captivated 'till the very end.**

**So anyway, on with the chapter! I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ITS CHARACTERS! THEY BELONG TO THE FABULOUSNESS THAT IS HIRO MASHIMA!**

Levy awoke with a start, sitting up in her bed as she attempted to catch her breath, the memory of the nightmare still raw in her mind. She brought a hand to her head and sighed deeply, trying to calm her heart rate. Levy looked out the window and saw the sun was already up.

"What time is it?" she mumbled as she looked around her messy room for the clock. Before she could even think about getting up to find it, two sharp knocks hit the door, followed by a loud crash that was someone breaking it down.

"Levy!" the familiar, worried tone in the voice was something Levy could never ignore.

"Erza?!" she gasped.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" she questioned as she looked around the room with a sword in hand, as if looking for an intruder.

"Erza, calm down!" she yelled as she stood up from her bed. Erza turned to look at Levy, confused.

"Levy, you were screaming." Erza sighed as her sword disappeared. "I woke up and heard you screaming."

"I . . . I was screaming?" Levy stuttered, dumbfounded. She had no memory of screaming.

"Levy-san, are you alright?!" Levy looked over and noticed Juvia run through the open doorway. "Juvia heard you scream," she added. Levy then noticed the small Dragon Slayer run in after Juvia with Charla.

"I wasn't screaming . . ." She said, not even believing her own words. _Was I screaming?_ Erza looked down at the young Script Mage with worry.

"I could hear you screaming out 'no, stop, don't hurt them,'" she explained. Levy looked to the other two mages and noticed them nod.

"Maybe you had a nightmare?" questioned Wendy. Levy looked down at the floorboards. _What was my nightmare again?_ _What happened that made me so scared?_ Levy just remembered waking up completely terrified.

"I—I don't remember."

The three mages exchanged looks with one another as Levy attempted to remember. Realizing the strain Levy was putting on herself; she sighed and placed her hand on Levy's small shoulder.

"Well, whatever it was, it was only a nightmare." Erza smiled reassuringly.

"Y—Yeah, just a nightmare," Levy repeated with relief in her tone.

* * *

At the guild, Levy sat solemnly at the bar, watching Mira-Jane clean a random cup with a dazed expression.

"Is something the matter, Levy?" she questioned the girl. Levy looked up and yawned.

"I duno, tired, I guess." Levy shrugged her shoulders as she rubbed her eyes. Mira chuckled a bit.

"Stay up too late reading?" she asked.

"Not this time," she joked. She then leaned back, almost stretching when she noticed Lucy walk into the guild. "Lu-chan! Over here!" she waved an arm up, trying to get the attention of the Celestial Spirit Mage. Lucy looked over at the sound of her name and smiled when she saw Levy.

"Morning, Levy-chan," she greeted as she took the seat next to her friend. She then turned to Mira-Jane.

"Good Morning, Mira."

"Good Morning, Lucy. You want me to get you something?" she asked.

"No thank you." Lucy shook her head before turning back to Levy.

"So, Levy-chan," Lucy said in a teasing tone, "I noticed that Gajeel walked you home last night," she giggled.

"Oh he did, did he?" Mira added; her interest clearly peaked. A slight blush creped upon Levy's features at the thought of what they were insinuating.

"It was nothing, really." Levy looked down at the counter, remembering what he said last night that made her angry.

"What do you mean it was nothing?" asked Lucy.

"Well, Jet and Droy started arguing over who'd take me home. I told them I was fine by myself, but then Gajeel stood up and offered, but then he said he only offered because it would shut them up."

The two wizards shared a look then smiled down at the small Script Mage. Lucy has known for a while about Levy's feelings for the Iron Dragon Slayer and seeing her become completely perplexed over any little thing involving him.

"Hey, Levy—"

"Ah, Levy, Lucy, there you are." Lucy stopped midsentence when she heard the Master's voice coming from behind them. The two turned around in their seat.

"Good morning, Master." Levy greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning. I was looking all over for the two of you," he stated as he reached for a rolled up paper from his back pocket. "I have a job here for you."

Makarov noticed the look of confusion on their faces as he unrolled the paper. "This Job request comes from a small village nearby a town called Corpus. This village is surrounded by a thick forest close to the sea that has been plagued with a curse." He cleared his throat as he stood on the counter of the bar, "One of its residents came by just before dawn to request this and she was very specific as to the type of wizards that would be needed."

"May I see the request, Master?" asked Levy. Makarov handed over the tattered paper as he continued to explain.

"It asks for a Script Mage to decipher the curse and find the cure. Then a Celestial Spirit Mage to help maintain a special barrier and finally—"

"A Water Mage to control the unbearable weather." Levy finished as she looked the paper up and down.

"That is really specific," muttered Mira-Jane.

"Barrier . . ." Lucy mumbled, confused as to what that meant. She knew nothing of barriers, much less maintaining one.

"It's very odd, it doesn't explain much else." Stated Makarov as he crossed his arms. He looked up and noticed Juvia enter the guild, "Ah Juvia, perfect timing."

Juvia, slightly confused, walked over to see what the master wanted. As she arrived, they told her about the strange request.

"Stop the weather . . . but Juvia doesn't think she can . . ." the Water Mage responded with hesitation.

"At the bottom, it says that everything will be explained in detail once we arrive," said Levy. "Master, I don't know about this," she added with uneasiness. There was something about this request that screamed '_wrong'_ to her.

"Juvia agrees. Something doesn't feel right." Lucy nodded in agreement with the two.

"Yes, I know. That's why I'm sending Gray, Natsu, and Gajeel with the three of you." He added bluntly. "I would have liked to send Erza as well, but I had to send her to settle a different matter." He added, mostly to himself.

"Ah, Gray-sama! If he comes, then Juvia shall go without complaint!" Juvia clasped her hands together with a love struck look on her face. Levy looked at Juvia with a slight shake of her head and a smile. To still have such strong feelings for the Ice-Make Wizard after being turned down numerous times was something to be admired . . . even though Juvia was basically a stalker. Lucy ignored Juvia's antics as she ran through the guild, looking for Gray.

"Are you sure about this, Master?" asked Lucy.

"Well, I have my suspicions about this which is why I'm not sending the three of you alone." With a sigh, he added, "I want you to go and speak with this person and find out exactly what this is for and why they requested the three of you specifically. Should anything go wrong or feel . . . out of place, leave _immediately_." He explained, putting a lot of emphasis on the last word.

"I understand, Master." Lucy answered as she stood up from her seat. "I'll go tell Natsu."

"Don't bother. I've already informed the three. They're getting their things ready and will meet the three of you at the train station."

With one last look of concern, Makarov jumped from his spot on the bar and retreated into his office. Lucy and Levy exchanged one last look before leaving to get their things ready.

"Be careful Lucy, Levy, Juvia!" Mira called out to the three as they left the guild. The reassuring smiles on their faces as they left didn't help quell the pit in her stomach. She hoped that this vibe would fade once they returned from their job safe and sound.

* * *

Levy wandered about in her room, looking for the books she would need for translating the curse the request mentioned.

"If only it had mentioned what language the curse was . . ." Levy mumbled to herself as she looked through her books. Picking up one, flipping through it, and then it setting aside.

Finally, she chose five different books. The languages in that particular area varied, but if this curse was ancient, then that means it could only be one language. If it was more recent then it had to be one of the five books she carried. Either way, she was prepared. With one last mental count of what she needed, she proceeded with leaving when something caught her eye. The small story book she had read the previous day was sitting on her bed and without thinking; she had picked it up and placed in her bag. Levy, for some reason, needed to take the book with her. Then, with one last look at her messy room, she left for the train station.

* * *

Lucy sat on her bed, lacing up her boots while thinking about the strange request. The fact it was so specific about the type of mages they wanted was something. For one, Levy was the only script mage in the guild and Juvia was the strongest water mage. Lucy was one of the last remaining Celestial Mages. Levy was one of the best around when it came to translating anything. Juvia is strong enough to manipulate the weather and, after some research and questioning Crux, Lucy had the ability to maintain a barrier. Considering the person who requested this knew enough about them, they might as well have mentioned them by name.

"Something isn't right here . . ."

"What isn't right?"

Lucy was brought out of her deep though at the sound of Natsu's voice as he jumped in from the window behind her. As per usual, Lucy was startled and fell to the floor.

"How many times have I told you to use the door, Natsu?!" she snapped.

"Psh, who the hell knows," he retorted. "So what were you saying? Something not feeling right?" he asked as he sat next to her. Happy flew in right after him with a fish in his mouth.

"Mornin' Moophy!" Happy's muffled voice greeted as he chewed happily on the fish. With a sigh, Lucy stood up and sat back down on the bed.

"Master told you guys about the request, right?" she asked Natsu. He nodded, all joking aside once he noticed the seriousness in her tone. "They requested the three of us . . . specifically. I don't know but something just doesn't feel right about this." Lucy turned away and stared down at the floor. Sensing her uneasiness, Natsu stood up and placed his hand on her head. Lucy looked up and saw his smiling face.

"Don't worry Luce. As long as I'm around, nothing is going to happen to you!" He said as he brought up a fist and placed it against his chest, "I promise!"

"Aye! We'll protect you, Lucy!" added Happy as he finished off his fish and mimicked Natsu. Lucy looked between the two and smiled.

"Thanks you guys," she said. Lucy then stood up and chuckled slightly, "What am I even worrying about? As long as you guys are there, I don't have to feel scared or anything."

Lucy then picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder and headed for the door. She turned and noticed a slightly stunned Natsu.

"You guys coming?"

Worry was one thing but the fact that Lucy felt scared bothered Natsu. She was never scared over anything when it came to a job request. What the hell was with this job request that had everyone acting this way?

"Natsu?"

"Huh?" Natsu didn't realize he was deep in thought until he noticed both Lucy and Happy waiting by the door. Without waiting another moment, he followed them out.

* * *

The three arrived at the train station just in time to purchase their tickets. Lucy was growing irritated with Natsu's constant complaining about riding a train and why they can't just walk to Corpus.

"Natsu, for the hundredth time, walking would take us weeks!" snapped Lucy.

"Ne, Lucy, look!" Happy interrupted as he pointed to the group ahead of them. Lucy noticed Juvia clinging onto an extremely annoyed Gray. That was somewhat normal behavior for the two, but then Lucy noticed the thick tension in the air. She turned and noticed Levy with her back turned to Gajeel while he leaned against a pillar, chewing on a screw with visible irritation. Pantherlily stood there, staring at the two and with a sigh, turned around to greet Lucy, Natsu, and Happy.

"What happened with those two?" Lucy asked.

"I'm not even sure . . ." Lily trailed off as the tension in the air grew.

"Something tells me this is going to be a long train ride." Lucy sighed as the passengers started boarding the train.

**Crimzon: There you have it. So review please and I'll be seeing y'all next week!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Crimzon: Thank you all so much for the reviews! Honestly it cheers me up, especially since I've been kinda down lately. And yes, every now and then, there will be a mistake that managed to escape me as I review each chapter so if there's some grammatical error, I apologize now. **

**Anywho, I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL CHARACTERS! THEY BELONG TO MASHIMA!**

**Chapter 3**

The train ride had been long indeed. Hours passed and soon, the sun had started setting. Needless to say, poor Natsu and Gajeel were practically dead by then.

"Hah, didn't think you'd be like Natsu, Gajeel," taunted Gray from the seat across the two dragon slayers.

"What ya sa—" his stomach churned violently, causing him to fall back into his seat. Lucy and Levy chuckled at the sight from their seats across the aisle. Pantherlily sat on Levy's lap, shaking his head at the spectacle.

"Idiot . . ." he murmured. Gajeel, having heard his partner's word, sat up straight and was about to start an argument when his face practically turned green and he fell back into his seat. He now seemed to be in a state between consciousness and unconsciousness. Natsu was already knocked out as he was 'completely done with life' as he put before passing out. Again, the two girls laughed at their pitiful state.

"So, how much longer to Corpus?" asked Gray. He turned to the two girls, trying not to move to quickly for Juvia had fallen asleep, using his shoulder as a pillow. As much as she irritated him with her behavior, he still saw her as nakama and what's a nakama if they can't lend a shoulder to a sleepy friend?

"Um, maybe an hour or two left. According to the directions I got from the conductor at our last stop, he said that we'd be able to tell when we start getting close," explained Levy.

"I wonder what he meant?" asked Happy from his spot on Lucy's lap.

"Um . . . I think I know," Gray stated as he pointed out the window. The two girls turn to look and noticed a large dark cloud gathering over one area and it was pouring rain. Every now and again, you could see lightning strike and then loud thunder would crash. Pantherlily began shaking and covered his ears.

"What's wrong with Lily?" asked Lucy.

"He doesn't like thunder . . ." she smiled slightly at the Exceed on her lap. Levy then picked him up in her arms and held him close, attempting to drown out the thunder. It helped a little as she noticed him stop shaking.

"So that's what they meant by bad weather . . ." Gray trailed off as he stole a quick glance at Juvia, wondering if she really was capable of controlling that.

It was night when they arrived in Corpus . . . at least, they think it was night. The rain clouds were so dark and it was raining so heavily that it was difficult to tell.

"Come one, sleepy head," sighed Gray as he dragged a dazed Juvia off the train. As they stepped off the train, Juvia fully awoke and her cheeks turned a bright red.

"G-G-Gray-s-s-sama!" Juvia realized she had slept on him most of the train ride.

"Alright, everyone forgetting anything?" asked Levy as she mentally counted, making sure they weren't forgetting anything or anyone on the train.

"Man I feel like crap," complained Gajeel as he hunched over, using the pillar for support.

"No kidding," added Natsu as he hung on Lucy for support. "I'm never going on a train again."

"You say that, but you never mean it," sighed Lucy. The group laughed at Natsu and his complaining. It's when Gray noticed that Juvia was the only one not laughing that he stopped. He looked over and saw her looking out one of the windows, watching the heavy rain fall.

"Juvia?"

"Something happened here . . . something horrible . . ." she trailed off as a chill flew up her spine, causing her to shiver.

"What do you mean?" asked Levy. Everyone fell silent as they stared at the rain woman.

"Juvia can feel it . . . Juvia knows this feeling well."

"What feeling, Juvia?" asked Lucy. Juvia turned and faced the group with solemn eyes.

"Great sorrow."

Gajeel and Natsu completely forgot about their motion sickness after hearing Juvia's words. "Master is right, something isn't right here," she added as she looked back out at the heavy rain.

They all exchanged a look with one another.

"Come on guys, we should look for an inn. We can head for the village in the morning," Levy suggested. They all nodded in agreement as they grabbed their bags and left the station.

* * *

They had more difficulty finding an Inn than they had originally thought. The town attracted many tourists because of the supposed haunted location just nearby. The never-ending rain was also a plus. Many townspeople have hired wizards from all over Fiore to try and solve the rain issue, but they never succeeded.

After running all over town, trying to find an Inn, the group was finally in luck when they found a small, rundown Inn towards the edge of town. Finally finding shelter from the rain, they all rushed through the door.

"Who woulda thought all the other Inns are full?" commented Gray as he shook the water from his hair.

"I'm tired." Lucy dropped the semi-dead Natsu on the floor as she tried to catch her breath. "Why did I have to carry Natsu the whole time?!" she complained.

"Cuz he liiiiiikes you!" Taunted Happy as he flew by in the background.

"Shut-up, cat!"

Levy chuckled at the three as she made her way to the front desk. She noticed no one was even in the room. She rang the small bell on the desk, waiting for someone to walk in.

"G-Good E-evening, e-e-every-o-o-one." A stuttering voice sounded from behind the front door which startled the group. Happy screamed and hid behind Lucy while everyone else stumbled back a bit.

"I-I-I'm s-s-s-orry to h-have startled y-y-you . . ." she mumbled. Her voice was very soft and was hard to understand her, especially with the stuttering. She walked out from the shadow of the door. She wore a long black dress with a white ribbon tied around her waist. She had long brown hair coming down in waves over her shoulders. She was really pale and the dark circles around her pale blue eyes made her look malnourished.

"It's ok, we're all just a little jumpy," lied Lucy with a nervous chuckle.

"I-I-I never really h-h-have guest-s-s-s at my Inn. P-P-People tend to get f-f-f-frightened of me-e-e." She smiled and added, "So i-i-if I di-i-i-id happen to-o-o startle you, I'm t-t-terrible s-s-sorry."

"Well of course you're going to frighten people the way you're dress—"

Levy swung her bag and hit Gajeel over the head before he could finish that statement.

"Really, it's alright. Can we get two rooms please?" Levy asked with a smile, completely ignoring the KO'd body of Gajeel twitching on the floor. Everyone else stood there silently feeling bad for him. Clearly though, he did deserve it.

"Of course! R-R-Right away!" smiled the Inn keeper. She ran over to the other side of the desk and reached for two separate keys. "E-E-Each of the r-r-rooms have three beds, which I assume is w-w-what you ne-e-e-ed, right?" she asked.

"Yes, that's perfect. Thank you, Miss . . ."

"Ah, my n-n-name is Lydia. Lydia Craft."

"Nice to meet you, Lydia-san. I'm Levy McGarden."

Lydia got quite at the sound of Levy's name, as if it sounded familiar but she couldn't remember why. Instead of dwelling on it, she handed Levy the keys and directed her to the two rooms up the stairs.

"I'll be making d-d-dinner s-s-so please come down into t-t-the dining room i-i-i-in an h-h-h-hour."

The group gave their thanks as they made their way up the stairs.

* * *

The girls set their bags on their beds. Each grabbed a towel and began drying off from the rain.

"It just doesn't seem to stop, does it?" commented Lucy as she stood by the window.

"I wonder how long it's been like this?" added Levy as she removes her hairband so she could run the towel through her hair.

"It's been like this for a while," Juvia added.

"How can you tell?" asked Levy.

"Juvia can tell. Juvia isn't sure how to explain," she answered.

"S-S-She isn't w-w-wrong," Lydia walked into the room at the moment.

"Lydia-san. . ." Lucy mumbled.

"It's been raining since the day I-I-I was b-b-born, m-m-maybe even l-l-longer than that," she explained.

"How can it possibly rain for so long?" asked Levy.

"Well, it does stop sometimes, b-b-but only for maybe an hour or so. The clouds never seem to disappear though." She chuckled a bit and smiled a sad smile. "Come to think o-o-o-of it, I-I-I don't think I h-h-have ever seen the b-b-blue sky."

Juvia looked up at the Inn keeper at that moment.

"You are mages from Fairy T-T-T-Tail, yes?" she asked. The girls nodded. "Did s-s-someone from t-t-town perhaps h-h-hire you?"

"Yes, actually. Someone from the nearby village," stated Lucy.

"T-The nearby v-v-village?" Lydia's eyes widened slightly.

"Actually, now that I think about it, we didn't get a name," Lucy pointed out as she brought out the paper.

"Perhaps it was the head of the village? We can ask around tomorrow morning," suggested Juvia.

"The only person who i-i-it could h-h-have been is Violet," Lydia interrupted.

"How do you know?" Asked Levy.

"She's the only one living in that village."

"She's what?!" snapped Gray with a mouth full of food.

The group had gathered in the dining room for dinner and to discuss what Lydia had just told the girls.

"She's the only living resident in the village," stated Levy as she blew at the hot soup.

"But why does she live there alone?" questioned Pantherlily as he attempted to ignore the thunder.

"From what Lydia said earlier, there's a legend about that village," answered Lucy.

"Legend?" Gajeel raised an eyebrow. Levy put down the spoon and looked up at the others.

"Supposedly, that village was cursed by a witch a long time ago. The villagers realized that they weren't able to leave their village for very long. When they would leave, they'd die within a few days. Soon after the curse was placed, people began dying off from diseases or attacks from the monsters that lived in the surrounding forest." Everyone at the table was quiet. "According to Lydia-san, Violet was the last person to be born in the village and is the last living villager."

"Poor girl has been living alone all this time . . ." Lucy trailed off.

"But, why did she wait until now to ask for help?" Asked Pantherlily as he chewed away at a kiwi.

"Not sure, but what I want to know is why haven't the other wizards been able to figure it out?"

"What do you mean, Levy?" asked Gray.

"This town has hired wizards from all over so they can try and solve the constant rain problem. What makes Violet think we'd make a difference with this curse? It's obvious that both are connected so they would have been able to stop this curse."

"That i-i-is because t-t-the townspeople d-d-don't think it should b-b-be saved." Lydia came in from the next room to stand by the table. For the third time that day, everyone was startled by her sudden appearance.

"Why?" questioned Natsu with a mouth full of food.

"T-T-The townspeople feel that the v-v-villagers brought the c-c-curse upon themselves and should f-f-fix it themselves. The w-w-wizards that were b-b-brought here were only asked to s-s-stop the rain i-i-in this area."

"What makes them think that?" asked Juvia.

"It's a l-l-long story and it has been told so many t-t-times that I don't even k-k-know which is t-the r-r-real version, but what I can s-s-say is that that v-v-village has been there much l-l-longer than this town." Lydia stopped a moment and took a seat at the head of the table. "It's s-s-said that the rain never u-u-used to plague us as it does n-n-now. It only ap-p-peared shortly after the c-c-curse was placed. Some say a witch placed it; others say it was the very villagers who d-d-did it. No one really knows. But the t-t-townsp-p-people say the villagers deserved what they h-h-had coming to them. They said that it was their f-f-fault for playing God."

"Playing God . . ." Levy mumbled as she stared down at her bowl. She was thinking hard, trying to remember why that phrase was the only one that bothered her. It was familiar somehow. Gajeel noticed the Script Mage across from him seemed off. He could always tell when she was in a deep thought and decided not to distract her when she was like that.

"What did they do that was so bad?" asked Happy. Lydia sat with her hands on her lap, twiddling her fingers. She didn't want to answer so she merely let her eyes drop down to stare at her fingers.

"Lydia-san?" Juvia started but stopped when she noticed Gray shaking his head.

"I'm s-s-sorry, but I can't r-r-really say more. It's not s-s-something people in t-t-this town like to d-d-discuss."

Lydia stood up from her seat and started making her way back towards the kitchen to clean when a bright streak of lightning spread through the sky, lighting up the dark clouds and following that, the loudest crash of thunder they've heard since arriving in Corpus. The sudden loud noise startled Lily so much that he jumped from the table and hid on Levy's lap. The group sat there, their ears covered and just when the thunder stops, the lights start flickering then shut off completely.

"Kyah!"

The group heard a small scream coming from the kitchen and then what sounded like pots and pans hitting the floor. Without hesitation, the group ran into the kitchen. Natsu lit a small flame in the palm of his hand so they could see.

"Lydia-san, are you al—" Lucy stopped when she saw Lydia had tripped over her shoelace and had a couple of pots and pans scattered around her.

"I-I-I'm sorry to h-h-have caused you worry," she laughed a little in embarrassment. Everyone sighed in relief knowing that there was no danger.

"Does this happen often?" asked Gray as he helped her up while the others helped pick up the pots and pans.

"Y-Yes. Y-You would think I'd b-be used to i-i-it by now," she laughed again, but this time she sounded more melancholy than before.

* * *

Lucy stood under the showerhead, letting the water run through her hair. She hadn't realized just how cold she was from the rain until the warm water hit her goose-bumped skin. She could hear Levy chatting with Juvia in the other room, talking about the events that took place and the mystery behind this curse. The electricity was still out so they had to use these old candles Lydia had stored for occasions such as these. Lucy took one into the bathroom and placed it on the counter by the sink. She realized just how dark it would have been without it. She probably would have tripped over something trying to find the shower.

With one last rinse through her hair, Lucy turned off the water and wrapped a towel around herself. She stepped out onto the cold wood floor and walked over to the counter. She noticed the slight steam from the hot water caused the mirror to fog over. She didn't bother trying to wipe it away, it was hard to see anyway. As she reached for her pajamas, she heard something.

_"Lucy …" _

Lucy stopped moving, thinking maybe it was Levy or Juvia that had called her name.

"Levy-chan, did you call me?" she asked from the bathroom. In the joining room, Levy stared at the closed door, confused.

"No, Lu-chan, I didn't." She responded. Juvia brushed her hair, not thinking anything of their short conversation.

Lucy stood there in the slight darkness of the bathroom, completely confused.

"I could have sworn I heard something . . ." she whispered to herself. Brushing what she heard aside, thinking it was her mind playing tricks on her, she quickly dressed in her pink shirt and gray pants. Lucy then hung up her towel on the rack and reached to grab the candle when she noticed something in the mirror. The fog was already dissipating and she could see her reflection more clearly. She got a little closer to the mirror. Her reflection started looking more distorted and a dark shadow seemed to settle with a red-like glow around it. Lucy took a step back, trying to convince herself that she wasn't really seeing this. She saw the shadow darken as it completely overtook her reflection. Lucy hit the wall of the bathroom, completely running out of room. Lucy saw two dim red circles appear in the shadow as an arm started to appear. It seemed to place its palm against the mirror, as if trying to push its way through. Lucy's legs began shaking as the fear settled. She couldn't move, couldn't think. She wasn't sure of what was happening.

The shadow began forcing its arm through the mirror, reaching for Lucy.

_"Lucy . . ."_

It called out her name in a raspy voice. It wasn't human. Finally finding the strength in her legs, Lucy screamed as she bolted for the door.

* * *

"Ahh, I'm so full. That food was amazing," Natsu yawned as he fell onto his bed.

"Aye!" Happy agreed as he fell beside the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"You're a glutton," Gray stated as he threw off his shirt and settled into his bed.

"What you say, pervert?!" snapped Natsu. Gray sighed and threw the blanket over himself.

"Not now, Flame brain, it's been a long day," he yawned as he turned his back on the Dragon Slayer.

Natsu sat up and a grin spread across his features. Gajeel sat in his bed, watching Natsu move across the room towards Gray.

"What're you doing?" he asked. Natsu's sharp-toothed smile widened as he tip-toed closer to Gray's bed.

Pantherlily peaked out from under the covers to see what Natsu is doing.

"I believe he's going to play a prank on Gray," he said as he shook. Gajeel looked down at his partner and pet his head, trying to reassure him that the thunder will die down eventually.

Natsu started chuckling to himself as he approached Gray when suddenly, a high pitch scream echoed into their room which scared Gray awake. He was so startled, in fact, that he jumped and fell off the bed, taking Natsu down with him.

"What was that?!" Happy flew up to stare at the door. From the floor, Natsu looked up and realization hit him. He knew that scream anywhere.

"Lucy!" he gasped.

They all ran to the door towards the girl's room.

* * *

"Lu-chan, open the door!" yelled Levy as she pulled on the door handle.

"I can't, it won't open!" she yelled, her voice full of panic and fear. Juvia grabbed onto the handle as well and both her and Levy were pulling with all their might.

On the other side of the door, Lucy was pushing against the door, trying to get it to open, but it wouldn't budge. Just a couple of feet behind her, the shadow was slowly forcing its way through the mirror and was inching closer to Lucy. It kept repeating her name. The candle flame kept flickering with the increasing cold in the bathroom until it finally blew out, leaving Lucy in complete darkness. She screamed a second time when she felt a clammy hand grab her arm.

Natsu and the others burst into the room in that moment.

"What's going on?" exclaimed Natsu.

"Something's attacking Lucy! This door won't open!" Juvia replied in a panic. Natsu ran over to the door and started pulling on the handle. Lucy hadn't made a sound since they entered the room.

"Lucy!" He banged on the door, trying to get her to say something.

"Please . . . just get this door to open . . ." her voice was nothing but a strangled whimper as she sank to the floor.

"Alright, I'm busting in!" Natsu took a few steps back and lifted his flame engulfed fist. He was about to completely demolish the door when Levy suddenly jumped and grabbed onto his arm.

"Wait!"

"What the hell do you mean by wait?!" snapped Natsu.

"Look . . ." the group stared at the door as it began to creak open. Lucy stepped out, her hand grasping tightly onto the door handle. Her face had gone pale and tears were streaming down her face.

"Lucy, are you okay?" asked Happy. Without a word, Lucy stepped forward and fell into Natsu's arms, crying into his shirt. Natsu lost his footing and they both fell to the hardwood floor. Lucy was trembling. Something had truly scared her and that angered him.

The group looked down at the two, worried for Lucy. Levy, on the other hand, walked into the bathroom, trying to figure out what had attacked Lucy.

"Levy-san, don't go in there . . ." Juvia voiced.

"Yeah shrimp, what're ya doin'?"

Levy ignored them as she inspected the small bathroom. The candle was no longer lit and was knocked over onto the floor. She picked it up and as she did, she noticed something peculiar about the mirror. Her reflection was distorted. This mirror was perfectly fine before, but what made it like this now?

"Y-You may w-w-want to s-s-tep away from t-t-the mirror, L-Levy-san."

**Crimzon: Gotta love them cliff hangers. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review! 'Till next week!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Crimzon: You know? I'm really proud of myself. I've managed to update this story once a week like I've promised without any delays so a round of applause should be in order! . . . Or just review, I like those too. Which reminds me, thank you all for your reviews! I know that there are some errors and let's face it, my grammar isn't as great as it used to be. Since I stopped writing for some time, my good grammar was just shot to hell so please be patient with me in that area. ALL FAIRY TAIL CHARACTERS BELONG TO MASHIMA EXCEPT OCS!**

**Chapter 4**

Lucy sat in her bed, slowly sipping the tea that Lydia had brought her. She had just stopped shaking and seemed more like herself. Natsu sat at the edge of the bed, occasionally looking back at her to make sure she was alright. Happy sat right next to her with a worried expression.

"Lucy?" he whined.

"I'm ok now, Happy. Sorry I worried you," she looked down and smiled at the blue Exceed. The others sat around the room in silence. Earlier, Lydia walked in with a bed sheet and proceeded into the bathroom. Next thing they knew, she started nailing the sheet to the wall so it covered the mirror.

"Lydia-san, what are you doing with the—"

"S-S-someone must h-h-have died . . ."

The room fell silent at those words. Lydia walked back into the room and closed the bathroom door.

"What do you mean, Lydia-san?" asked Juvia. Lydia stared out the window, watching the rain lightly tap at the glass.

"M-M-Mirrors are s-s-said to be a g-g-gateway to the other s-s-side," she stated.

"You mean like the other side of town?" asked Happy. Pantherlily seemed to sigh at his fellow Exceed's comment.

"She's talkin' bout hell," Gajeel stated bluntly.

"In a w-w-way, yes." She smiled solemnly and began walking to the other side of the room. "A long time ago, whenever someone was near death, they would cover every mirror in the home so the spirit of the departed wouldn't get confused trying to find its way to the other side. Sometimes, such confusion could trap or even anger a spirit. Sometimes the negative energy would convert them into demonic like creatures if left alone for too long. Since then, it has become, almost like a tradition, to cover all mirrors in a home when someone is about to pass."

"Aye! Lydia isn't stuttering anymore!"

"_That's_ what you get from that, Happy?" Gray stated in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, m-m-my stuttering c-c-comes and g-g-goes. Forgive me i-i-if that b-b-bothers you," Lydia laughed nervously. "As I-I-I was saying. It d-d-doesn't happen often, b-b-but when it d-d-does, the t-t-towns people forget to i-i-inform me. Perhaps it is b-b-because my Inn is so d-d-detached from the rest of the t-t-town." Lydia looked to Lucy then bowed in an apologetic way, "I'm truly sorry for my pigheadedness. My neglect has caused your comrade harm. I was in the process of covering the mirrors when you all arrived. I was so happy to have guests that I had forgotten about the mirrors in the bathrooms. When I realized what I had forgotten, I went about the Inn to finish covering them when I heard Lucy-san screaming."

"Don't apologize, Lydia-san. It's alright!" Lucy replied cheerfully, "I'm not harmed right? Just a little spooked, so please don't blame yourself."

"She stopped stuttering again . . ." Happy muttered to himself.

"Thank you L-L-Lucy-san," she replied, slightly teary-eyed. With one final goodnight to the group, Lydia retreated back downstairs.

"Lucy, you sure you're alright?" asked Natsu as he stared intently at his nakama.

"I'm fine, really. I'm just a little shaken is all," Lucy set aside the cup and wrapped her arms around herself, slightly rubbing them. It's when her left hand rubbed over a small area below her right shoulder that she winced.

"Lucy?" Happy looked up when he heard Lucy's pained voice.

"Lu-chan, what's wrong?" Levy asked as she took a step towards her. Lucy looked down at her lap, trying to cover that area on her arm. Natsu was having no patience at the moment and quickly grabbed her hand and pulled it away. Once he laid eyes on the small area, he practically fell to the floor from shock. On Lucy's arm was a bruise in the shape of a human hand.

"Was that from-?!" Juvia gasped.

"What the—why didn't you say anything?!" Natsu snapped, blood boiling with anger. The thought of any dear friend of his being hurt practically sent him into a rage.

"Natsu . . ."

"I'm going to get Lydia," Natsu quickly stood up and started heading to the door when Lucy jumped and grabbed his arm.

"Natsu stop! Didn't you see how guilty she felt over what happened? I don't want her feeling any worse over such a minor thing! It's just a bruise, Natsu. It'll heal," Lucy's frantic yell slowly dimmed to a calm whisper. Realizing that Natsu wasn't going to leave, she let him go and returned to her bed.

The others watched the two before them, wondering if they should interfere or not, but once they saw them calm down, they were able to sigh in relief.

"Well, we shouldn't leave you girls alone in here so we're staying," Natsu stated bluntly, much to Gray's and Gajeel's surprise.

"What the hell do ya mean, Salamander?" Gajeel snapped. "Where do ya expect me to sleep?"

"Ahh! Gray-sama, you are more than welcome to share Juvia's bed!" Juvia patted the spot next to her while a bright blush crept onto her face.

"Yeah I don't think so," Gray stated, almost sounding exhausted.

"Why don't you guys head back to your room. Lydia swore that nothing else will come through the mirror, so it's not really fare to have you guys here all night." Levy stated. Lucy nodded in agreement.

"Well, alright, but Happy and Lily stay," he stated as he looked to the two Exceed.

"Aye sir!" Happy exclaimed.

"I'll be sure to protect them should anything come through that mirror," Lily added with a smirk.

With that said, the three left the room, leaving the girls and the two Exceeds to their thoughts.

"Lu-chan, are you sure you're alright?" asked Levy right when they were all settling in for the night. Lucy was already snuggled up under her blanket with Happy curled up on the pillow next to her. Juvia was grumbling something about not being able to share her bed with Gray as she shoved her face into her pillow. Lily got himself comfortable on a pillow next to Levy.

"For the hundredth time, Levy-chan, I'm okay," she replied; then with a smile added, "Goodnight."

Levy smiled and said her goodnights as well. Just as she was about to blow out the candle, she stopped and stared around the room. Lucy and Happy were already sound asleep as well as Juvia. Without missing a beat, Levy hopped out of bed, grabbed her small book bag and the small candle holder.

"Levy?" Pantherlily watched as Levy was getting out of bed.

"I'm just going to the dining room to read for a bit. I don't want them waking up if I happen to make any noise."

"In that case, I'll accompany you," he said right as he was getting up.

"No that's ok, Lily. Stay here and watch over them for me, ok?" she asked. Lily smiled and nodded.

* * *

As Levy made her way to the dining room, she desperately wished she had more light than just a puny candle. The Inn was old and creaky floor boards didn't help with the creepy atmosphere. Rain could be heard from just outside as it banged against the roof in almost a lyrical rhythm. Small traces of thunder would occasionally follow the tapping sound of the rain.

As Levy made it to the dining room, she re-lit a candle that they had used from earlier and set both on the table. She then proceeded to take out her books and spread them out.

Levy didn't believe much in ghosts, but she had researched them enough. What happened tonight was gnawing away at her mind and was worried that Lucy was more hurt than she said she was. Luckily, Levy had thought ahead and brought one of her books that mentioned ghosts. She thought it may prove useful considering Corpus is known for its haunted locations.

Almost an hour into reading the book, Levy couldn't find anything useful. One thing she did know was that Lydia wasn't lying about the mirror's being able to confuse the spirits of the recently departed. Releasing an exhausted sigh, she closed the book and leaned back in her chair. She let her head roll back so she could stare at the ceiling. Slowly, her eyes began to droop. Levy hadn't realized how tired she had become.

"Shrimp?"

Levy's eyes snapped open at the familiar voice. She practically fell out of her chair from fright.

"Oh Gajeel, you startled me," she said with a hand to her chest, trying to calm her beating heart.

"Looked more like I scared the crap outa ya, Shrimp," he laughed with an added "Gihii," at the end. "Anyway, what are you doing here this late? Shouldn't ya be sleepin'?" Gajeel walked past the dining room table and through the next door that led into the kitchen. Levy sighed and sat back down in her chair.

"I wasn't really tired and—WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" she whispered harshly as she saw him walk back into the dining room with a handful of dining utensils in his hand. He chewed nonchalantly at a fork already in his mouth.

"What? I'm hungry," he defended as he sat down in the chair next to her. He then brought up his other hand and set down a glass of water. "Here, thought you might need it," he stated. Levy was somewhat shocked at the kind gesture.

"Thank you," she said as she picked up the glass.

"So, whatcha readin'?"

"Well . . ." Levy brought down the glass and slid the book over to him. "After what happened tonight, I thought I'd research it a little more."

"So basically, you didn't believe Lydia's story?" he questioned bluntly.

"Y-Yeah . . ." Levy stuttered a bit and suddenly felt guilty for not trusting her in the first place. "I just had a feeling that something was wrong. You know, with the timing and everything?"

"Timing?" Gajeel raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I've had a bad vibe ever since we got the request." Levy stopped and hesitated. She worried that he'd laugh at her for feeling frightened over a job.

"Wana tell me 'bout this vibe, Shrimp? Or ya want me to try my hand at mind-reading?" he added with more sarcasm than he had probably meant to.

"Ok, but just keep this between us. I don't want to worry the others needlessly."

Gajeel had a serious expression and nodded. Levy smiled slightly to herself. She knew that he knows when it's time to joke and when it's time to be serious.

"Lydia explained how Corpus has hired mages in the past to solve the rain problem, but didn't want to find a solution to the curse." Levy stopped and brought out the job request from her bag then set in on the table. "Juvia has been uneasy since the moment we got off the train too, so when Lu-chan got attacked earlier, it made me think . . ." Levy trailed off and stared at the flickering flame of the candle before her.

"Get to the point, would ya? I can't read your mind," Gajeel snapped, trying not to sound too harsh.

"What if someone from this town is trying to stop us from solving the curse?" Her eyes never veered away from the candle.

"You think they hired a hitman or something?"

"Like I said, it's probably just me being paranoid, but what happened tonight with the mirror didn't seem right." Levy finally looked away from the candle and reached for the book. She opened it and found the passage she was just looking at earlier. "Lydia wasn't lying about the mirror, but from what I saw tonight, it didn't seem right."

"Shorty?" Levy ignored him and continued to speak.

"The mirrors are said to confuse spirits and then could cause them to possess anyone who happens to be near one. But this one was trying to hurt Lucy. That bruise that was on her arm . . . the reflection of the mirror was distorted. It couldn't have been a ghost."

"Oi, Shrimp," he called out to her again. She ignored him as her rambling continued.

"It doesn't look right. Ghosts shouldn't be capable of something like that. There's more to this request, to that village, to this curse. Something is . . . something is—"

"Damnit stop!"

Levy stopped and looked up at Gajeel. She hadn't noticed that he had both his hands on her shoulders and had been shaking her.

"You're crying," he said silently. Levy brought up her hand and felt the stream of tears that trailed down her cheek. She hadn't realized how upset she was . . . or was it fear that brought her to tears?

"You sure you're alright?" Gajeel backed away and stared at her, worried she may be losing her mind.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just paranoid."

"No, you're not." Levy looked at him in bewilderment. "We've all been jumpy since getting here, now even more since Bunny Girl got attacked. Listen, there's a reason Makarov sent us with you guys and we ain't gonna let anything happen, ya got that?"

Levy's fears seemed to dissipate in that moment as she smiled at the Dragon Slayer. She didn't know what to say except for one thing.

"Thank you, Gajeel."

They seemed to stare at each other for a long time. The only noise in the room was from the rain tapping at the window. The thunder has long since stopped.

"Umm . . . A-A-Am I interrupting?"

The Two jumped in their seats at the sound of a third person walking into the room.

"Lydia-san?!" Levy stated with surprise.

"Would ya stop doing that?!" Gajeel snapped.

"I-I-I'm sorry?"

"Creeping around like a fucking specter! Put a damn bell on or something!"

"Gajeel!" Levy scolded. "I'm sorry, Lydia-san," Levy apologized.

"Oh n-n-no, that was m-m-my fault. I have trouble sleeping at night so I tend to wander around the Inn. I'm sorry if I startled you,"

"Oi, stutter, don't stutter. Make up your mind," Gajeel said under his breath. Levy heard him and brought back her elbow, connecting with his stomach. Gajeel looked down at the Script mage and raised an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to hurt?"

"Shut-up! Stop being rude!"

**Crimzon: I got good news and bad news. The bad news: this chapter was kinda short (sorry!). The good news: You got a cute GaLe moment and next chapter will be uber long! Seriously though, I have about 2k words down and I'm nowhere close to half-way done. So anyway, until next Thursday!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Crimzon: Ok, here's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy and I own nothing! Only OCS! FAIRY TAIL BELONGS TO TROLLSHIMA!**

**Possession Chapter 5**

_ Juvia walked through a forest. A low mist settled around her bare feet. She couldn't control her body as she sluggishly moved down an unknown path. She felt cold and clammy. Her bones were aching and there was an itch at the back of her mind that screamed, 'something is wrong!'_

_ The water mage managed to clench her fist and felt an odd substance. Her body suddenly stopped moving and her head dropped to look at her hand. A chill flew up her spine at the sight. _

_ "Blood . . ."_

_ The fog in her mind seemed to clear as she noticed that her entire arm was caked in the red substance. She searched for wounds but found none. This wasn't her blood. Continuing her inspection, she noticed splotches of blood on her clothes._

_ "Was Juvia fighting . . .?" she asked herself. As if on cue, another voice could be heard from an area behind her. It sounded broken, as if speaking were something very painful. What frightened Juvia even more though was that the voice was something she could always recognize, no matter how dazed she was._

_ "Gray-sama!" She turned around, happy to see the Ice-Make mage. The sight she saw, on the other hand, was something she wasn't expecting. In fact, it's something that's been plaguing her nightmares since the day of the dragon festival._

_ "J-J-Juvi-a-a-a . . . w-w-why?" his voice broke as he choked on blood. He laid there in the dirt a broken mess. His left arm seemed completely useless as it lay there at an odd angle. Multiple cuts and gashes covered his skin, but that didn't compare to the gaping wound in his gut._

_ "N-No . . ." Juvia ran to Gray, tears pouring down her face. Just before she could reach him, her legs automatically stopped and she found herself just standing over the dying mage. "What? Why can't I . . .?" Juvia realized in that moment that she was unable to speak._

_ "He deserved it, Juvia." She felt the words leave her mouth, but she wasn't the one saying them . . . it was someone else. "He got in the way . . . he deserved it."_

_ "No . . ."_

_ "You deserve to be happy, Juvia." It said, then causing a smile to spread across her face, added, "Sleep. Go back to sleep. Let the pain slip away and forget."_

_ Juvia felt her conscious start to slowly slip away as the image of her body standing over Gray remained etched within her thoughts. Before she faded completely, the unknown voice chuckled, "This is my body now." That statement was then followed by manic laughter._

Juvia jolted awake in her bed, beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. She felt goosebumbs along her arms as she rubbed them. The nightmare she just had was fresh in her mind. She could almost feel the stickiness of the blood that covered her arm.

"Blood . . ."

Gray's blood.

The blood that had covered her clothes . . . the blood that she had shed. It was the blood of the person she cared for most in this world.

The memory from that day, the day of the Dragon Festival, returned to plague her thoughts. The Dragon Spawn that had appeared out of nowhere and shot at Juvia, only for Gray to knock her out of the way. The dozens of lasers that were shot at his exposed body, then the shot to the head that ended it all. His body crumbling to the ground and the blood spreading everywhere. Juvia only had one thought at the sight, "It's all my fault."

Time seemed to stop then and they find themselves back on their feet, repeating the events just before the tragic incident. Ultear had given her life in order for time to go backward one minute. Gray never got hurt and everyone escaped alive and well, but the nightmares continued. Juvia would ignore them and often hid her fears with her usual perky mood. No one knew about her nightmares, not even Gray.

"Juvia?" Lucy walked into the room then and found Juvia sitting in her bed with her arms hugged around her knees. Juvia hadn't noticed that she was alone in the room when she woke up.

"Lucy?" Juvia rubbed a stray tear from her eye then asked, "What time is it?"

"It's almost noon. Levy and I tried waking you up for breakfast but you were sound asleep. Are you ok?" Levy walked into the room after Lucy then.

"Juvia is fine, thank you." Juvia looked away from the two and stood up out of bed. "What about you, Lucy?"

"I'm better, nothing to worry about," Lucy smiled then added, "We should get our things together. Lydia-san is lending us a carriage so we can travel over to the village."

"Ok, Juvia just wants to do this job and go home," she mostly muttered to herself. Lucy and Levy exchanged a worried glance then turned to get their things together.

* * *

Levy stood in the room, placing a piece of paper in an envelope. Lucy and Juvia had long since left to join the boys downstairs. Lydia had told them that she was letting them borrow the carriage so they could make the journey to the village. Luckily, the rain had stopped, but it was only a matter of time before it starts up again.

"Levy-san?" Levy turned around at the sound of Lydia's voice. She noticed her standing in the door-way. "Y-Y-You're f-f-friends are w-w-waiting for y-y-you."

"Right."

Levy reached for her book bag and placed it over her shoulder.

"Um, Lydia-san? May I ask a favor of you?" she asked right as she passed her. Lydia looked at the Script Mage with a smile.

"Y-Yes?"

"If we don't come back by tomorrow morning, please send this letter to the Fairy Tail Guild," Levy reached down for the envelope and handed it to Lydia. She seemed almost saddened at what Levy was insinuating. "Please say you will," Levy asked.

"O-Of course, L-L-Levy-san."

* * *

Juvia was sitting at the front of the carriage with the reigns resting in her limp grasp. She was staring up at the dark clouds, thinking back on her nightmare. It had felt so real that she was completely stunned. Juvia was so lost in thought; in fact, she hadn't noticed Gajeel trying to get her attention.

"Oi! Rain Woman!" Gajeel shouted. He had been standing next to the carriage, trying to get her attention for the past few minutes already. Juvia jumped in her seat once he started yelling.

"Oh, Gajeel. Sorry, my mind was elsewhere."

"Yeah I noticed." He sighed then added, "Just needed to make sure you know the plan."

"Plan?" Juvia looked completely confused. Gajeel mentally face-palmed at her response.

"Lydia said the rain gets harder as we get closer to the village. This tarp over the carriage isn't going to be enough cover so you need to hold off the rain until we get there."

"Hold it off? The whole way? Juvia doesn't think—"

"That's why we're leaving now. The rain stopped so we have about 2 hours before it starts up again."

Juvia looked down at her hands. She noticed her fingers were trembling as she struggled to keep her hold on the reigns. Juvia clenched her hands, attempting to stop the shaking. Holding the rain off should be easy enough, right?

"Gajeel? Do you have nightmares?" Juvia looked around her, making sure it was just the two of them waiting by the carriage. The others were still inside getting their things together.

"Huh?" he raised a studded eyebrow in question.

"Nightmares from the . . ." she trailed off, gripping the reigns even tighter, her knuckles turning white from the strain. Gajeel seemed to catch on to what she was asking and quickly his expression softened.

"The Dragon Festival?" he asked. Gajeel had his own nightmares from that day, but he never said a word, not even to Pantherlily. Juvia clenched her jaw.

"It was my fault that Gray-sama . . ."

"Juvia, you can't blame yourself."

"But . . ."

"Hey Juvia, you ready?" Gray walked up to the carriage.

"G-Gray-sama?" Juvia quickly whipped away the few tears that escaped her and proceeded to acting like how she normally did. "Yes, Juvia is ready!" she then added a smile to her façade. Gajeel silently stepped away to continue loading the carriage.

"Once you leave the town, you'll have to cross this w-w-wide open desert. Do not stop, not e-e-even for a moment. You all will be exposed to any wondering m-m-monster." Lydia was standing at the stoop of her Inn, giving the group last minute guidance.

"Well, if we see any, we can just avoid them," spoke Lucy.

"No. You won't see t-t-them coming. They're v-v-very tricky."

"She's right," added Levy as she walked out with her bag slung over her shoulder. "I did some reading on the monsters in the area and there are some that hide in the sand. It's better to just keep moving and not get into any unnecessary fights," Levy then glared up at Natsu and Gajeel in that moment.

"What?" snapped Gajeel and Natsu simultaneously.

"You two have the tendency to jump into battle for no reason," stated Lucy. Without another word to the complaining Dragon Slayers, they jumped into the horse drawn carriage with only a flimsy tarp to keep them sheltered.

Lydia watched the carriage make its way down the cobblestone street as she clutched the letter Levy entrusted her with to her chest. She knew them only for a short time, but they quickly grew on her. Once the carriage was out of view, Lydia walked back inside. She hoped—no—prayed that she wouldn't have to send the letter.

* * *

"Lucy, why does my tummy hate me?"

Natsu was hunched over, clutching his stomach. Lucy opted to ignore Natsu's whimpering, knowing that he is always like this. Gajeel was more or less feeling the same but was quiet. His eyes were shut and jaw clenched, obviously uncomfortable.

"How's your arm, Lucy?" asked Levy.

"I'm fine, stop worrying," she replied with a smile.

"But the fact that we don't know what attacked you means we are still being targeted," Levy added.

"She's right," Lily spoke. "Right now, we are completely exposed and I expect an attack before we reach the village."

"I kind of expect that too," Levy spoke as she closed the book she was reading. "That's why I placed some runes around the carriage. They're not as strong as Freed's, but it's something."

Most of the trip was quiet. Natsu had lost consciousness about an hour in. Happy sat with Lucy, trying to start a conversation about fish. Lily sat with Levy towards the end of the carriage, watching desolate planes.

"The clouds are getting darker," mumbled Levy.

"How much longer until we get there, Levy? I don't think Natsu and Gajeel can handle much more of this," stated Happy. Levy glanced over at the two in their pitiful state and with a sigh looked back outside.

"We're about half-way. Think you guys can handle another hour or so?" she asked. Levy received a loud groan in response.

* * *

"Looks like it's gonna start raining again," Gray noted as he took a quick glance at the darkening clouds. He cracked the reigns, causing the horse to run faster. He had a feeling that the Dragon Slayers in the carriage were probably having one hell of a time trying to keep in their breakfast. Then with that in mind, he silently apologized to the others in the back.

Juvia sat quietly next to the Ice Mage, awaiting the rain. She was desperately trying to keep that nightmare out of her mind. She sat, waiting to feel the tiniest hint of rain, trying to find whatever reason to keep herself distracted. Juvia went from analyzing the terrain to the clouds to staring at Gray's coat. _Cotton? Wool?_ She thought to herself, wondering about the material of the coat. Though it soon brought little comfort to her as the image of his coat being covered in blood flashed in her mind. Juvia jolted slightly in her seat, her pulse racing.

"Juvia, it's starting to rain," stated Gray. He looked over at his fellow guild mage and noticed she seemed in some sort of distress. "Juvia?"

She heard her name being called and shook her head, trying to gain back her senses.

"Huh? Oh, sorry."

Juvia looked up at the sky and noticed it had started drizzling. A small smile formed as she felt the familiar droplets splash against her skin. She felt an odd sense of comfort. She looked around and focused on the puddles of water that were forming on the ground. She raised her right arm in an arc motion, the palm of her hand facing towards the sky. Moving her fingers in a fluid, spinning motion, the rising water collected just above the carriage. Juvia took one last look at the small barrier of water, making sure it wasn't too flimsy, she slowly brought down her arms and rested her hands on her lap with the palms still facing upward.

"Nice job," Gray complimented as he awed at the water barrier floating above the carriage, maintaining the same speed as them. Juvia had her eyes closed in deep concentration, but she smiled in return. She always loved when Gray would complement her on something, no matter what it was. She suddenly felt better. Her worries seemed to fade. Was it because of her strong feelings for Gray that seemed to overpower her fears? Juvia didn't dwell on the thought. Instead, she let the feeling of comfort keep her from drowning in her fears.

* * *

"Looks like Juvia has managed to put up the barrier without any problems." Lily smiled as he looked up at the thin sheet of water hovering above them. A loud crash of thunder roared among the dark clouds, causing Lily to cringe and cover his ears.

"Sorry Lily, nothing we can do about that," Levy chuckled lightly as she reached for the Exceed and held him in her arms.

"Ugh, we there yet?" Gajeel groaned, drops of sweat forming on his forehead.

"We have maybe half an hour left, try to hang on just a little longer," replied Levy. She felt sympathy for the two Dragon Slayers and wished she could perform a Troia spell on them like Wendy, but the fact is that she can't.

"Natsu, you okay?" asked Happy, showing concern for his friend. Natsu uttered a few incoherent words then weakly held up a shaky thumbs-up.

Lucy rubbed Natsu's back, hoping to alleviate some of the discomfort. When she turned her head to look outside, she noticed something dark following them.

"Levy, what's that?" asked Lucy. Levy gave her a quizzical look before turning her head to see what Lucy was pointing at. It was only for a split second, but she saw a dark shadow melt into the ground. Gajeel crawled towards the back of the carriage to see what Levy was seeing.

"Get low and stay quiet," he said in a harsh voice. He placed his hand on Levy's shoulder and pulled her back towards the front of the carriage with the others. Lucy lightly tapped on the wall of the carriage, trying to alert Gray and Juvia. Before they could say a word, they felt something hit the carriage from underneath them.

* * *

Gray heard a distant tapping sound from the carriage, but before he could do anything about it, something had hit the carriage from below, knocking them to the side. Gray and Juvia fell off the carriage as it slid away a few feet. The horse broke free, and ran off, disappearing into the darkness.

"Juvia!" Gray called out, trying to find his friend in the harsh rain.

"I'm ok!" she answered back. She followed the sound of his voice and found him standing, completely disoriented. Lydia was right, the rain fell down harder the closer they were to the village. Fighting against her own element, she grabbed hold of Gray's hand and tried pulling him towards where she thinks the carriage slid to.

"What the hell hit us?" yelled Gray.

"Perhaps it was – look out!" Juvia cut herself off midsentence when she saw a shadow with dagger-like claws aiming for Gray. On reflex, she pushed him to the ground and stood before him with her arms up in front of herself. _Juvia's body is water. This won't—_

Her own thoughts were cut short when she felt the sharp claws dig into her skin. One claw ran down the length of her arm and the other cut a deep gash from her hip to just below her ribs.

"JUVIA!"

* * *

Levy was dazed when she sat up. She felt rain hitting her skin and realized the carriage was completely destroyed. She quickly stood, trying to find her comrades, but wobbled as she tried to get her balance. Levy brought up her hand and winced when she felt something warm trickle down from a cut on her forehead.

"Levy-chan!" shouted Lucy. Levy looked up and saw Lucy's silhouette. She limped her way and noticed she had Natsu draped over her shoulder.

"I can't find Happy or Lily," Lucy shouted over the roar of the rain.

"What about Gajeel?"

"I saw him go after the monster that knocked over the carriage."

As she says that, they see a body get flung in their direction and they noticed it was Gajeel.

"Gajeel!" Levy ran to crouch next to him and helped him up.

"We need to get out of here!" he yelled as he whipped a drop of blood from his lip. "Where's the others?" he asked. Before they could answer that, they heard Gray's voice painfully yell over the sound of thunder.

**Crimzon: Ok, turns out this chapter ended up being too long so I cut it down the middle. So hope you enjoyed this cliffhanger and I can't wait to read your reviews! Until next week!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Crimzon: Let me begin with a heartfelt apology for not updating the last few weeks like I was supposed to. Shit happened, I battled with the common cold/flu/plague/demon possession (whatever the fuck it was), and re-wrote half of this chapter cuz it literally sounded ridiculous to me. To make up for it, I'm updating a second chapter this weekend. You know what that means? I want twice the reviews! Anyway, I adored your reviews! I love getting that reaction with cliff hangers and such. Also, for those of you who read the special Fairy Tail chapters . . . HOLY FREAKIN CRAP! And to avoid any spoilers, I'll leave my reaction at that. But boy howdy my ships are SAILING! . . . oh good Lord, I just said boy howdy . . . I'm obviously not ok. Now I OWN NOTHING! ONLY THE FABULOUS MASHIMA WHO PUT THE MAJORITY OF THE FANDOM INTO A COMA! ENJOY AND REVIEW!**

* * *

Gray was frozen as the events before him took place. Juvia had pushed him out of the way, taking on the brunt of the attack. He shouted her name as he watched her clothing get torn by the sharp claws of the monster before them. Gray pulled himself forward, catching her limp body as she fell and hurried to remove his coat and put pressure on her wounds, but when he took a good look at her, there was no blood, no wound. _I saw those claws dig into her skin but there's no—_Gray noticed dark bruises began to form in the place where there should be a deep gash. He gently placed two fingers against Juvia's neck and breathed a heavy sigh when he felt a slow but steady pulse.

"Gray! Juvia!"

Gray heard the cries of his guild mates as they ran towards him, but the realization hit him hard when he saw that the shadow figure with the dagger-like claws still stood before him. Gray's grip on Juvia tightened, ready for whatever the shadow figure would do. The shadow stood there, bright yellow eyes narrowing at Gray. Then, without warning, the shadow turned and vanished into the veil of falling rain.

"Where did—"

His train of thought quickly veered off its tracks as he looked down in concern for Juvia. He covered her in his coat and picked her up in his arms.

"What happened?" Lucy questioned as the group approached them. Her voice could hardly be heard over the sound of the harsh rain.

"It can wait! We need to find shelter!" Levy shouted. Shortly after she spoke, they noticed a dim light in the distance.

"Natsu!" They could hear the distant sound of Happy's voice coming from the direction of the light. The group stood silently and watched as they saw three figures emerge from the dark curtain of rain.

"This way! Quickly, before they return!" They heard the frantic warning from a young girl who stood with a thin cloak to cover her from the rain. They were unable to see her face due to the hood and rain, but the light from the lantern illuminated the faces of the two figures with her.

"Happy!" Natsu shouted.

" Lily!" Gajeel added.

Now sure the girl was on their side, they followed her through the storm.

Levy didn't realize how close to the village they were. They were actually just outside the entrance. As they entered, they could feel that the rain wasn't as harsh and they felt a slight wave of relief. Levy glanced at the tall pillars that lined the entrance of the village. Although she saw them for a brief moment, she easily noticed the strange runes engraved into the dark stone. What made them strange to her were the subtle changes in the lines, the way it was drawn. _"They're old. Really old," _she thought. But she quickly had to toss her thoughts aside as they rushed into a nearby clay home.

"Set her down on the bed," the stranger ordered. She rushed to another room and came back with a wooden bucket, towels, and bandages. She dipped the small towel into the water and placed it on Juvia's forehead. Juvia had long since lost consciousness. "Why don't you all wait in the front room, I'll take care of your friend." She then proceeded to shooing the group through the thin curtain.

They sat in the front room. It was small and damp. There was a small window with wooden shutters that kept the rain from entering. The round front entrance was covered by a heavy wooden door with three dead bolts that kept it from blowing open. The room was simple; a small table with four chairs, multiple chips adorned its surface. A once ornate table cloth has long lost its once bright red color. Short threads could be seen poking out in different spots. There was some pottery lined up against the wall. Some had flowers, but others remained empty. _How long was this girl alone?_

The wait was agonizing. Gray stood by the door with the thin curtain. He continued to fidget, from crossing his arms to silently tapping his foot. His worry went unnoticed by the rest of the group, but they were equally just as worried. Lucy sat with Happy in one of the chairs at the table. She softly stroked the fur on his head with a solemn look in her eyes. Natsu was pacing back and form in the limited space, agitated over the events that took place earlier. Levy could understand how he must be feeling. Being unable to fight when needed because of his low tolerance for traveling is a handicap for him . . . Gajeel as well. Levy understood, because this was how she felt, motion sickness or not. Levy always felt weak and helpless. Sure, she was good when it came to translations or research and was always happy when people needed her. It made her feel useful, but when it comes to fighting, now that is a handicap. Levy clutched her fists, irritation beginning to bubble in her. _The runes I placed weren't enough to protect us. The thing that attacked us knew they were there but easily broke through them. I wasn't able to protect them and we had been so close to the village. I am just . . . not useful. Not at all. _Levy clutched her hands tightly into fists until her knuckles were practically white. Gajeel stood not far from the small mage as he leaned against the wall. Lily stood with him and he was also aware of Levy's current state of mind.

Just then, a blood curdling scream could be heard from the next room, breaking the silence. Before anyone had a chance to run through the curtain, the young girl walked through with a stern expression.

"Your friend was attacked by one of those monsters correct?"

"What the hell did you do?!" Gray completely ignored her question as he pushed his way into the room. The state Juvia was in remained the same. Her clothes remained torn, showing the darkening skin around her stomach and thigh. Her breathing was labored, as she attempted to catch her breath.

"She was poisoned by the monster and I need to extract it, but she won't hold still long enough." The girl continued, "Will you help me hold her down?" If the guilt wasn't enough to faze him before, it was now.

Gray remained to help with Juvia while the others returned to the main room. It was silent, except for the tapping sound of rain against the tin roof, thunder, and the occasional strangled scream ripping from Juvia's mouth.

With each scream, everyone would flinch. _This is my fault._ Levy could feel the tight hold the guilt had over her. She had assured everyone that the runes would protect them, but it wasn't enough and Juvia had suffered for it. Gajeel could sense the negative emotion radiating from Levy and decided to speak his mind.

"Juvia's strong." The others looked up at the Iron Dragon Slayer. "Something like this won't kill her; she's too stubborn for that, especially if the ice stripper is there with her." He then focused his eyes at Levy, "And it's no one's fault that this happened so quit sulking. We'll leave them to take care of her. For now, let's try to figure out the problem with this place." It was silent for a moment.

"Gajeel is right; we can't just sit here and do nothing. We need to continue what we started," agreed Lucy as she stood up from her seat. Levy wasn't so sure, she still felt uneasy. Something else was about to go wrong, it was only a matter of when.

"But Lucy, Juvia was supposed to be part of this mission, without her, we can't—" Happy's concern was cut off by Lucy's sudden change in tone.

"We'll have to make do without her. She was supposed to hold off the rain, probably to make our job easier for when we investigate the village. She is obviously in no shape to do that now," she gingerly placed Happy on the table and stood up. "The rain here doesn't seem as harsh so we should be able to check out the village. We now owe it to Juvia to get this job done and get her back to Magnolia."

Levy was somewhat stunned by her friend's words, but before she had a chance to question it, Lily spoke, distracting her from her thoughts.

"You have a point; we should finish this job quickly."

"Exactly, but this village isn't exactly small and we most likely don't have much time before the rain worsens. We should split up and take a quick look around the village."

"Is splitting up really a good idea?" Levy's voice was low from not speaking for a while.

"It's just to take a quick look around," Lucy glanced at the Script Mage then with a sly smile that only Levy noticed added, "Besides, we'll be _on guard_ should we get attacked again." The sudden emphasis on those words was like a slap to the face for Levy.

"Alright, it's settled," Natsu spoke up before Levy could say a word. "Me, Lucy, and Happy will go down this street and look around the village," he motioned with his thumb over his shoulder." He then stopped as a thought occurred to him, "Someone should stay to tell Gray though."

"I'll stay behind," volunteered Lily. He then craned his head to look up at Gajeel, "You and Levy go explore the opposite side of the village.

The Mages shared a simple nod as they headed for the door, leaving Lily alone in the quiet room. Although it seemed the two Dragon Slayers didn't notice the odd behavior from Lucy, he in fact _did._ But as to not cause some sort of fuss, he opted to see how things would turn out. Lily hoped that it was just nerves from the sudden change in events that had made Lucy act somewhat cold, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was clearly not right.

* * *

Gajeel and Levy walked down the cobblestone street, looking at anything that seemed out of the norm, but other than the fact that every hut was empty, nothing really stuck out for them.

"What's got ya so quiet shrimp?" Gajeel asked suddenly. Levy had been quiet the entire time, her mind thinking back to the conversation mere minutes ago.

"Something Lucy said is still bothering me," she said, crossing her arms. Gajeel raised an eyebrow, trying to think back to the Bunny Girl's words, but couldn't find anything wrong. Then again, he didn't really have an affinity for noticing things. Realizing that Gajeel wasn't going to ask the obvious, she continued. "When she said 'get her back to Magnolia' it didn't sound like something she would say . . ." she trailed off.

"So what? She was just saying we should finish this and head home, I don't get what's got ya so flustered."

"That's it!" Gajeel was slightly stunned at her sudden outburst.

"_Home_," she repeated that one word. "Lucy always says home when referring to Magnolia. She hardly ever calls it by name." She stopped a moment and muttered, "She _always _says _home_."

Gajeel's eyes widened at the realization. At this point the pair came to the same conclusion. Sharing a wordless stare, they bolted for the other direction.

"_When Lucy was attacked at the Inn . . . I should have read more into it. She obviously wasn't herself from that very moment . . ." _Levy's thoughts ran rampant as she thought the worst.

* * *

"We should split up from here, Natsu."

The trio had come upon two separate roads veering off from the main street.

"Nah, we should stick together," he replied. He's been sensing something different from his comrade. He couldn't trust her going off alone until he could figure out what it was.

"Listen Natsu, we don't have much time before this storm gets worse," she then smiled softly and added, "It'll be quick, just up the road and back and we'll meet back here."

They stood in the middle of the intersection with the only sound coming from the gentle rain. There was a sound of distant thunder and Natsu could tell it was only a matter of time before they would have to return to the hut. With one last sigh, he nodded.

"Fine, but Happy goes with you." Lucy didn't respond as she merely turned and began walking down the street. Happy responded with an "aye sir!" before flying off after her. With one last look at the two, he turned and walked down the opposite way.

The street was quiet as both Lucy and Happy searched for anything that seemed out of the ordinary.

"Ne Lucy, shouldn't we start heading back to Natsu? We've been walking for a while now." Happy whined as he trailed behind Lucy. He watched her back, waiting for a response, but she said nothing. Instead, she stopped walking and her shoulder's dropped. "Lucy?"

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this, especially to such a sweet little cat." Her voice was low, but Happy heard it loud and clear.

"Lucy?" Happy shuddered at the sudden chill that made his fur stand on end. He then noticed a strange scent in that area and it made the fear all that real.

Lucy turned to look over her shoulder and raised her arm, having the palm of her hand facing Happy.

"I'm so sorry, Happy." A soft smile spread across her lips, but her eyes expressed sorrow as a low light flickered across her hand. The last thing Happy saw was a bright white light.

* * *

"How's Juvia?"

Lily was sitting at the edge of the table when Gray walked into the room. He seemed slightly disheveled, but who could blame him?

"Resting. Violet says the poison is out of her system so her life isn't in any danger." He slumped down into the chair then ran his hand through his damp hair. Juvia's pain-filled screams echoed in his mind and couldn't help but cringe with each one. It took Gray a moment to realize that it was just him and Lily in the room.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"They're taking a look around the village. They should be getting back soon, before the rain gets worse," explained Lily. Gray nodded in response.

Suddenly, Lily felt a chill flew up his spine as an unrecognizable stench filled the room. He didn't have to be a mind reader to know that Gray had felt it too. Soon, both felt a strong feeling of dread and quickly stormed through the thin curtain in the next room.

"What the?!" Gray gasped. Violet stood over the sleeping Juvia with a hand hovering inches above her face. A thin glow outlined her body and it seemed to pass over to Juvia. "Hey! Get away from her!" before Gray could do anything to stop the strange girl, the glow faded and her body collapsed to the ground. A short second passed as the two watched the events before them. Violet acted as if she were a marionette whose strings were cut. Gray quickly stepped over to check on Juvia while Lily inspected the fallen girl. He lifted the sleeves of her cloak and was stunned with what he saw.

"Gray, grab Juvia. We need to get out of here," stuttered Lily. Gray looked over his shoulder at the Exceed and his eyes widened in shock. They hadn't gotten a good look at her features before because of the over-sized cloak she wore. Now, what lay on the ground was a life sized doll.

"Just what the hell is going on here?" Gray questioned. Just then, the room grew cold as the previous stench from before grew stronger.

"How long has it been since I've had a living, breathing, body?" Gray and Lily both froze at the voice. They turned to look at the occupied bed and noticed Juvia was sitting up.

"Juvia?" Gray took a slight step back, not wanting his fears to be real. Her head turned to look at them and said, "She's is no longer here." She then stood up from the bed and raised her arm at the two with narrowed eyes, "Water Slicer."

* * *

Gajeel and Levy were out of breath when they could finally see the small hut they were taking refuge in. Before Levy could take a step towards the door, Gajeel's animal like instincts grabbed her arm and threw her aside right when the thick wooden door was blown to pieces.

"What the hell?!" he cursed. The two mages took to a fighting stance at a safe distance from the small home, waiting for any attack that may come for them. In that same instant, Gajeel could hear Juvia's voice.

"Water Slicer!" A torrent of water burst through the door along with Gray and Lily. They fell to the floor, gasping for air.

"Lily! Gray!" Levy fell to the ground beside the too while Gajeel went to stand in front of them, ready to fight their attacker.

"Drip, Drip, Drop . . . it's what this girl used to say, no?" Levy looked up at the doorway and saw Juvia walking out. She herself looked normal, except for one thing. Her eyes. Juvia's eyes were like dark voids. It was as if there was no light in them, no emotion, no hint of there being any living soul.

"Juvia?"

"That's . . . not . . . Ju-Juvia." Gray managed to say while groaning from pain. "At least, I don't think . . ."

"You're wrong." Another voice joined them and the stench from before grew stronger. Levy turned and her worst fears came true. Lucy stood there with a nonchalant stare. She then walked over to stand beside Juvia, "This is in fact Juvia's body, it's just currently being used by someone else."

"What the hell do you mean?!" Snapped Gajeel. Lucy seemed to ignore the comment and continued.

"This body as well," she placed a hand on her hip, "Honestly, my instructions were specific. I asked for three mages, not six and two cats." She sighed as she shook her head, "You two," she pointed up at Gajeel then down at Gray, "And the other one were not something I was expecting and because I'm nice, I'll let you escape."

"But sister, Father said to kill anyone who interferes," Juvia spoke in the same monotone voice.

"And that is why if they listen to my warning, they'll get up and leave," she added quickly.

Levy now stood, frozen to her spot. Lucy and Juvia were both no longer themselves. Just what exactly is happening?

"Us three?" Lily mumbled, then realization hit him as he stared up at Levy, "Levy . . ."

"Two of the three mages have been acquired," Lucy stated as she took one step forward. "We are just in need of one more for our dear younger sister," she smirked. Without warning, a wall of fire appeared and separated the two groups. "What the?" Lucy gasped.

Gray wasn't stupid, he knew whose fire that was, "Natsu! You catch all that?!" He shouted. Natsu then appeared, standing on the roof of the hut behind them. He jumped down and stood before them. He didn't say a word, he was too angry for that. The fact that something had happened to his comrades without him noticing was infuriating to him.

"Gajeel, Lily," Gray walked up and joined Natsu, "Take Levy and go somewhere safe. They're after her and probably won't stop until she's like them," he said.

"No, wait—Ow! Gajeel!" Levy was cut off as Gajeel hoisted her up onto his shoulder.

"Sorry Shrimp, but no arguing on this one." He then stormed off with Lily, heading towards the nearby forests.

The wall of fire suddenly vanished into nothing but hot steam. Lucy and Juvia stood before them with un-amused expressions.

"Alright, you two better start talking! What did you do to the real Juvia and Lucy?! Where are they?!" Natsu's fist was already covered with a harsh flame. Lucy just seemed to sigh.

"You really aren't understanding anything, are you?" she brushed away a strand of hair, "Your friends are right here."

"Then why do you smell like corpses?" Gray looked to Natsu in shock. _Is that what that stench was?_

"That is because we are dead souls overshadowing the live ones," then with a melancholy expression, "We just want to be alive again."

**Crimzon: And here's another cliffy! Again, I'm so sorry this chapter is so late but stuff came up and, you know, life! Review Please!**


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